1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an apparatus for blending hot and cold water for washing operations, and more particularly, to an especially adapted to effect water and energy conservation in preparing and dispensing blends of hot and cold water.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Washing facilities, whether for people or objects, are generally equipped with a hot water supply and a cold water supply. Common facilities for people include sinks, showers, and bathtubs. Common facilities for objects, such as laundry, include wash tubs.
The washing operation often requires water at a temperature that is intermediate between the temperature of the cold water supply and the hot water supply. For example, a cold water supply may be near 42 degrees Fahrenheit. A hot water supply may be near 140 degrees Fahrenheit. A comfortable intermediate temperature for human showering may be near 91 degrees Fahrenheit, which is a temperature half way between the hot and cold temperatures.
Showers, bathtubs, and sinks are often equipped with single water outlets which blend hot and cold water. However, in arriving at the water blend of the desired temperature, often a substantial quantity of water flows out of the water outlet and down the drain. The water that flows down the drain is wasteful in a number of ways. Water is wasted. Energy to pump the water to the faucet is wasted. Energy used to heat the water is wasted. In this respect, it would be desirable if a water blending apparatus were provided that reduced waste of water and the energy employed to move and heat the water.
Often, when a person takes a shower, the person steps into a cold shower stall and undergoes a dose of uncomfortably cold or hot water before a comfortable temperature blend of water is obtained. It would be desirable, therefore, if a water blending apparatus were provided that avoided exposing a person to an uncomfortably cold or hot dose of water in a shower.
When hot and cold water are blended to arrive at a comfortable intermediate temperature, a quantity of water, which may be quite substantial, that is deemed to be either too hot or too cold is wasted down the drain. In this respect, it would be desirable if the water that is deemed to be too hot or too cold could be retained and recycled so that it can be blended to a comfortable temperature.
A number of prior art systems are known that are designed to save water. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,037,567 of Torres discloses a water heating system that includes a recycling loop in which water circulates to be heated by hot gases that are exhausted up a flue. U.S. Pat. No. 4,812,237 of Cawley et al discloses a water recycle system which converts used water or dirty into potable water. U.S. Pat. No. 4,893,364 of Keeler discloses a water recycling shower wherein water once used in the showering process is held in a storage tank and recycled during a portion of the showering process in place of fresh water. U.S. Pat. No. 4,977,885 of Herweyer et al discloses hot water heating system that includes a primary tank and an auxiliary tank. When the demand for heated water exceeds the capacity of the primary tank, water is drawn from the auxiliary tank. Otherwise, the water in the auxiliary tank is heated but unused and held in reserve. U.S. Pat. No. 5,004,536 of Geisler discloses a water reclamation apparatus designed to recycle dirty water that needs to be cleaned as part of a reclamation process.
Thus, while the foregoing body of prior art indicates it to be well known to use systems to recycle water, the prior art described above does not teach or suggest a water blending and recycling apparatus that reduces waste of water and the energy employed to move and heat the water. Also, the prior art does not provide a water blending apparatus that avoids exposing a person to an uncomfortably cold or hot dose of water in a shower. The prior art does not provide an apparatus for retention of water that is deemed to be too hot or too cold so that it could be recycled and blended to a comfortable temperature. The foregoing disadvantages are overcome by the unique water blending and recycling apparatus of the present invention as will be made apparent from the following description thereof. Other advantages of the present invention over the prior art also will be rendered evident.